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| Kharias | |
|---|---|
| Group | Kharias |
| Population | est. 400,000–600,000 |
| Regions | India: Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal |
| Languages | Kharia language (Munda), Hindi, Odia |
| Religions | Hinduism, Animism, Christianity |
Kharias are an indigenous Adivasi people of central and eastern India with a distinctive Munda lineage and cultural complex. Found mainly in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal, they maintain traditional practices while interacting with regional states such as Madhya Pradesh (state), Odisha (state), and national institutions like the Indian Constitution. Kharias have been subjects of anthropological and linguistic study alongside groups such as the Santhal, Munda people, Ho people, and Oraon people.
The ethnonym used in colonial and post‑colonial records appears in accounts by British Raj administrators, scholars associated with the Asiatic Society, and census reports from the Office of the Registrar General of India. Variants recorded by ethnographers include forms found in gazetteers of Bengal Presidency, Central Provinces and Berar, and in mission reports tied to the Church Missionary Society and Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Linguists referencing the Austroasiatic languages and researchers of the Munda languages debate derivations linked to regional toponyms in districts such as Raipur district and Simdega district.
Kharias are concentrated in districts administered under modern states: Raigarh district, Surguja district, Saraikela Kharsawan district, Bolangir district, and West Singhbhum district. Census enumerations by the Census of India and surveys by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (India) record population figures dispersed across scheduled areas defined under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes framework. Community representation interacts with institutions like state tribal welfare departments and non‑governmental organizations such as Tribal Research Institutes and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
Ethnohistorical reconstructions situate Kharias within wider movements of Austroasiatic peoples in South Asia and interactions with polities like the Maurya Empire, Gupta Empire, and later regional entities including the Maratha Empire and Bengal Presidency. Colonial encounters during the British East India Company period and the British Raj implicated Kharia homelands in forest policies, land settlements like the Permanent Settlement, and uprisings referenced alongside the Santhal rebellion and other tribal resistances. Missionary activity by bodies such as the London Missionary Society and administrative changes introduced under the Government of India Act 1935 shaped social transformation into the Republic of India era.
The community speaks the Kharia language, classified within the Munda languages branch of the Austroasiatic languages family. Linguists from institutions such as SIL International, scholars publishing in journals tied to the Linguistic Society of India, and fieldworkers referencing comparative data with Santali language, Ho language, and Korku language describe several dialects, often labeled regional varieties corresponding to districts like Simdega district and Raigarh district. Bilingualism with Hindi, Odia, and regional lingua francas results from schooling under the National Education Policy and administrative contact with state capitals such as Ranchi and Bhubaneswar.
Kharia social organization includes clan and lineage units comparable to structures documented among the Munda people and Oraon people. Festivals and ritual cycles intersect with pan‑regional observances like Diwali and localized ceremonies involving sacrificial and priestly roles analogous to those in accounts of Adivasi religion studies. Material culture—textiles, pottery, and ornamentation—has been exhibited in state museums such as the State Museum, Raipur and documented by ethnographers associated with the Anthropological Survey of India. Kinship terminology, marriage customs, and dispute resolution have appeared in case studies by social scientists from universities including Banaras Hindu University and University of Calcutta.
Traditional livelihoods combine swidden agriculture, shifting cultivation practices studied in forest policy literature, and foraging for NTFP (non‑timber forest products) that enter markets in towns like Rourkela and Bilaspur. Labor migration to industrial centers such as Jamshedpur and Bhubaneswar and participation in rural wage labor documented by the National Sample Survey Office reflect economic diversification. Land rights and access intersect with legal regimes shaped by the Forest Rights Act, 2006 and implementation by district administrations and state revenue departments.
Religious life blends indigenous animistic practices with elements of Hinduism and conversions to Christianity recorded since missionary engagement in the 19th century. Ritual specialists and healers perform rites similar to those described in comparative works on Adivasi religions and shamanistic traditions studied by scholars at institutions like the Anthropological Survey of India and departments in universities such as Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Kharia communities engage with contemporary policy arenas including rights under the Scheduled Tribes designation, tribal welfare schemes administered by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (India), and rural development programs funded by schemes linked to the NITI Aayog and state governments. Challenges involve land alienation addressed through tribunals, health disparities targeted by the National Health Mission, and language preservation initiatives in collaboration with organizations like Sahitya Akademi and academic departments specializing in Munda languages. Cultural representation appears in exhibitions sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and documentation projects by NGOs and university research centers.
Category:Ethnic groups in India Category:Indigenous peoples of South Asia